What’s the difference between an apparent conflict of interest and the real deal? In the world of government ethics, it’s all about the language crafted by the lawyers and the wiggle room they’ve left for other lawyers to argue about. Ethics codes in Georgia vary from one jurisdiction to another. Many prohibit a public officer from trading on his or her position for personal benefit but, as they say, the devil’s in the details.

A “complete failure” of internal controls allowed a top MARTA aide to charge several thousand dollars of personal expenses to the transit agency, auditors reported Thursday. The aide, the executive assistant to general manager Beverly Scott, was fired in August. Auditors blamed, in part, “an unacceptable deference to positions of authority” for the long delay in detecting the problem.

DeKalb County may still owe fired Police Chief Terrell Bolton (right) several thousand dollars, even if his dismissal is upheld at a civil service hearing. The county’s new CEO, Burrell Ellis, fired Bolton in February for comp time abuses and other infractions. Bolton took about $35,000 in unauthorized comp time in late 2007 and 2008, […]